Tomatoes/peppers wilting: too much rain or missing nutrients

[St. Louis gardener]

I thought they were doing better, since there were a few dark green (new growth?) leaves on top, but then it rained 1/2 inch yesterday (more expected today and tomorrow before a "dry spell" forecast for midweek) and I just tested and the ground still reads "wet." I sprayed the leaves (what's left of them ... most of the yellow leaves have dropped) with compost tea early this morning. Maybe if it's lacking in nutrients it can get it through the leaves?

Note to Cynthia on the potato "teepee": I'm trying it this morning. I plan to put the chicken wire around the plants, and replace the wood chips with this concoction of stuff I get free from the local park. It's not dried leaves, straw, etc. It's what's left when wood chips, leaves, etc. break down. It's very light and fluffy (although after a couple of rains may not be so fluffy). Do you think it will work?

[garden5]

It stinks you're getting hammered with so much rain ::?:. If your peps are really drowning, maybe you could rig up some type of a make-shift roof over them?

[St. Louis gardener]

Well fellow gardeners, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands instead of wondering about the true cause of the yellowing leaves on the peppers. I took a sample of the soil around them and tested with one of those home kits for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. If the results are correct, my soil is, indeed, lacking in nitrogen, though I can't imagine how, since we amended the soil with cow manure and our own compost. But I will try adding a little blood meal to the peppers and see if they perk up.

[rainbowgardener]

Rumor has it that those tests aren't always accurate, but since it confirms the symptoms, maybe so. Problem might be the so much rain part, flushing nutrients out of the soil. Probably was nice rich soil to start with!

I'm having the too much rain problem too... excess rain and humidity starting to lead to fungal diseases..

Let us know what the results of the blood meal are.

[St. Louis gardener]

Not sure whether it's because the all-day rains have finally stopped, or the bone meal I added to the soil, but the peppers seem to be doing better. All leaves are dark green and tiny peppers are visible in a couple. Yeah!! They are still so much smaller than they were at this time last year though. Anything I can do to give them a boost so they catch up to where they should be? Also, do you think adding blood meal around the other Nightshade plants will promote their growth too? Everything else is doing fine.

About the potatoes, they were doing fine in their little teepees, and I was adding mulch as often as needed to keep at least half the total height buried, but then this week I noticed the largest plant started wilting, and when I pulled on the shoot with the wilted leaves, it came right off in my hand. The end is all wet and squishy. What could be causing this? I haven't watered (not even sure HOW to water around the hill) and the compost is dry. None of the other potato plants are showing the same signs. Should I pick up the chicken wire and pull back the compost to see what is going on under there?